Pulling buses with his teeth, the Jason Statham of Gaza

DEIR EL-BALAH: The idea of pulling a 12-tonne bus seems a crazy one, and Mohammed Baraka takes a few minutes to prepare himself with his family and friends.

Only 20 years old, Baraka is far from a professional muscleman – in fact he is a second-year student in tourism and hotels at the Palestine Technical College in Deir Al Balah, his home town in the Gaza Strip.

But he has become something of a local hero, with his feats posted on Facebook and shared widely among Palestinians in Gaza and elsewhere.

Baraka now dreams of leaving the blockaded territory and becoming a global star.

His strength has earned him the nickname “Gaza’s Samson”, after the Biblical hero given supernatural force by God to fight his enemies and perform daring feats — including one where he ripped off the city gates of Gaza.

But Baraka prefers to be called “Gaza’s Jason” after his favourite movie star, British action film hero Jason Statham.

For his trick, Baraka uses his teeth while strapped into a harness to heave at a 20-person bus until it moves. Next he pulls a 50-seater bus.

The bus driver, Mahmud, looks astounded. “I thought he was joking, this is madness,” he says. “Had I not seen it with my own eyes I wouldn’t believe it.”

Baraka is more modest in his appraisal. “I am very happy as I managed to pull the big bus and brought joy to the children,” he says.

He accepts that many think he is strange, but “if an idea comes to my mind, even if it is crazy, then I do it immediately.”

– Online superhero –

From an early age it was clear Baraka was different. He first stood out when he jumped through fire in a school performance. Soon after he pulled a motorbike with his teeth.

For his first major test, Baraka said he pulled a 13-tonne bulldozer with his arms.

Among his other hobbies are walking on nails and cracking bricks on his chest and back.

He admits he has had no formal training except watching videos on YouTube and, of course, the action scenes of Jason Statham.

The man himself dreams of travelling the globe to compete in international competitions.

But in Gaza that is unlikely to happen any time soon.

The Palestinian enclave has been under a blockade by Israel since 2006, with severe restrictions on the movement of people and goods.

The strip’s border with Egypt, too, is closed the vast majority of the time, and Gazans are largely blocked from leaving.

In the territory, unemployment has reached nearly 45 percent, according to the United Nations, with a senior UN official recently warning Gaza was on a “disastrous trajectory”.

While his chances of leaving any time soon are limited, this only makes Baraka’s story more important, according to Mohammed al-Faleet, a friend who volunteers to help run the strong man’s social media accounts.

“We have thousands of admirers,” Faleet says.

He sees Baraka as a symbol of what young Palestinians can achieve. “Gazans have the ability, the talent and the creativity to compete at world championships,” he says.

However there are few clubs or organisations sponsoring such activities in Gaza, which suffers from a lack of investment in sport as much as other sectors.

Kamal, Baraka’s 55-year-old father who works at a local school, says there isn’t enough equipment for those wanting to improve and calls on Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas to back Baraka’s campaign.

“Mohammed can raise the name of Palestine high,” Kamal said. His case “highlights that the youth of Gaza are banned from travel and deprived of any chance of making a better future.”

Baraka agrees with his father. “Young people in Gaza have the creativity,” he says. “But we need liberty and freedom of movement.”